Thinking About Getting a Goat? Read This!

The first time I remember seeing a goat, thinking it was cute and wanting to pick it up to take it home happened when I was a little child. I don’t remember where or why I was there. I had to tag along with my mom while she did her errands. I have no idea what kind of goat it was. All I remember is it was a kid and was brown with a patch of white on its head. In my mind I had named the goat Swirly. I still think about Swirly from time to time (even before my goats came into my life). Did that end up being my first goat? No. Did it inspire me to get goats? No.

What inspired me into owning a goat is the fact that the milk is good for human digestion. There was a time in my life I had horrible acid reflex, indigestion. Whatever you want to call it. My chest hurt, I had gurgling noises in my throat from acid going up. I felt miserable. Some times I couldn’t sleep because the pain was unbearable. I researched on home remedies and came across goat milk. It’s supposedly supposed to help with reducing acid.

Did I go buy a goat right away? No. Did I go buy goat milk right away? No, since in VA you have to be apart of a share program to buy raw milk legally. At the time it was too expensive. I haven’t looked into it since.

If you read our goat page, then you will know that the indigestion resolved it self after I quit my job. You would have also read that we bought our first goat a year and half later.

Going down this path is a big responsibility. You have to make sure the goat is cared for. This includes but not limited to: feeding, watering, cleaning, nursing the animal when it’s injured or sick, trimming hooves, etc.

First of all if you are interested in getting a goat, you will have to consider getting two. You might be able to get away with one goat if you have another livestock animal like a horse, mule, sheep, etc. to keep the goat company. When we brought BB8 home he cried the whole night until about 1 to 2 in the morning. Waking up the next day, he started crying again. He cried all day until we brought home our second goat, Yoshi. Then he stopped calling “Mama!” to “Mama, who? Hey, Yoshi. Let me push you around and see how I can jump off this play thing.”

BB8 stopped crying once we brought Yoshi into the picture. They are still BFFs to this day! Whenever we let them out of their pen, they usually stay together.

Secondly, you need to decide on what breed is right for you. There are meat goats, there are milk goats, and there are goats that can be used for both. There are big goats. There are small goats. I feel like Dr. Seuss typing this out. LOL. But these are important things to consider!

Right now I don’t think I ever will get any goats bigger than a nigerian dwarf goat. I’m saying right now because that gives me room to bring in a larger breed later if I want! You need to be able to control the goat when milking, trimming feet, putting into a pen, etc. Goats don’t always listen and do as they are told. The goat may one day need blood taken for disease testing or other illness. One time I was milking Hazel and she got into one of her kicking fits. All I could think at the time was I’m glad she’s small because it makes it easier to handle her. When we trim the goats’ hooves, they sometimes kick and wiggle to get away. To them, trimming hooves is boring. They don’t want to be there. They want to be hopping around the yard, eating, etc. BUT trimming hooves is essential to the goat’s health.

I think this is a great part to put in that you have to trim goat hooves every few months usually! This depends on the goat. Our goat Hazel has to have her hooves trimmed more times a year than the other goats. We trim hers every few weeks. The other goats we trim them every few months.

When you’re deciding on the breed I would also keep in mind that sometimes goats butt and will jump up for food, putting their hooves on you. This could potentially knock you down. The bigger the goat, the bigger the impact will be on you. I am a short person and find that I can handle the nigerian dwarf goats well without much problem.

Thirdly, you need an enclosure. Also keep in mind that goats love to jump. I have heard stories of goats jumping over fencing. You need to make sure they have enough room to do their acrobat moves and the fencing needs to be tall enough to keep them in. Even though BB8 and Yoshi are older, they still love hopping around and butting each other.

Fourthly, are you going to vaccinate your goats? If you are saying yes then you need to find a vet that sees goats. The only place i have found that sees goats is 1 1/2 hours away. Even though I live in the country the vets around here do not see goats.

Fifthly, be prepared to get a hay supplier . Your goat will need hay every day, all day. You can read here to see how we get our hay. You also need to make sure the goat has a mineral block to lick on. Clean fresh water every day and warm water during colder months.

When you go out of town you will have to get someone to feed and water the goats. It gets more complicated when you’re milking. You will need to get someone experienced with milking and can handle the goat. As you know Hazelnut kicks when I milk her. I would feel bad leaving her with someone that wouldn’t be able to handle her.

If you decide to milk goats you need a milking area. You will also need to be dedicated to milking the goat twice a day! Yes, twice a day! If you don’t keep up with milking, the goat then will become uncomfortable and it invites mastitis, which you don’t want.

If you’re planning to raise meat goats then you need a clean, sanitary area to slaughter and skin the goat. I have no experience in this area so can’t elaborate.

Do you plan on breeding the goat? Either you need to make a decision to buy a buck or drive your doe to a buck. Bucks, like any other male animal, can be aggressive. They will butt and push you around. We deal with this since we own BB8. Luckily, he’s a nigerian dwarf so he’s easy to work with.

If you’re thinking of owning a buck then keep in mind they smell. I think they smell more when they are in rut, meaning they are ready to breed. Our enclosure isn’t right by the house so we don’t notice it. I have read about others where the neighbors complain about the smell. Before we brought home BB8, we visited him a few times. Every time we visited, their buck (BB8’s dad) smelled fine. I didn’t even think about the smell. For us, smell has not been a problem but I want you to be aware.

I think I have pretty much covered the basics! If you have any questions or any additions to this please post them in the comment below! 🙂